Welcome to the West Wing, John Kelly

John Kelly begins his first week on the job as chief of staff at a time of great challenge in the White House. President Donald Trump’s first major legislative effort, repealing Obamacare, has failed. Prospects for the next agenda items—tax reform, a budget deal, infrastructure, immigration—are dim. North Korea rushes rapidly toward threatening the United States and our allies with nuclear weapons. Iran acts in defiance of a nuclear deterrence agreement the president can’t seem to untie the U.S. government from.

There are challenges within the administration, too. Trump wants to ditch attorney general Jeff Sessions, whom he blames for the existence of a special counsel investigation that’s dogging the president and his family. The ousting of Reince Priebus last week was the culmination of months of civil war among West Wing aides. There is little indication the belligerents in that war plan to stand down, particularly with the arrival of communications director Anthony Scaramucci, whose willingness to do Trump’s dirty work with reckless abandon has only increased the sense of volatility. All the while the president himself remains disorderly and mercurial.

This and much more is what Kelly has been tasked to deal with in his new role. Can the retired Marine general enact discipline in the West Wing, playing the part of strong chief of staff in a way Priebus was never able to do? Will he command the respect of White House aides who often went around Priebus to other power centers within to West Wing or to the president himself? Will he have the ability to hire and fire staff? Can he speak truthfully and forcefully to Trump about doing what’s best for his administration and the country, even and especially when it contradicts the president’s instincts or impulses?

Kelly, a loyal member of Trump’s Cabinet (he had been running the Department of Homeland Security) who has no discernible political allegiances, has the opportunity to set the Trump ship right. But that can only happen if Trump empowers Kelly.

Trump to Sign Tough Russia Sanctions Bill

Late on Friday, the White House announced that President Trump will sign into law a new package of sanctions aiming at three bad actors: North Korea, Iran, and Russia. “President Donald J. Trump read early drafts of the bill and negotiated regarding critical elements of it,” said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “He has now reviewed the final version and, based on its responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends to sign it.”